For this week you should read all of Chapter 16 of the textbook. When you read the text that involves running R script you are expected to run the code by yourself on your computer, in parallel to reading it in the textbook, and compare what you get with the output presented in the textbook.

Part 1

In this course we have learned many subjects, and most of these subjects were likely unfamiliar to you. In this forum we would like to ask you to share with us the difficulties that you encountered.

What was the topic that was most difficult for you to grasp? In your opinion, what was the source of the difficulty?

When forming your answer to this question we will appreciate if you could elaborate and give details of what the problem was. Pointing to deficiencies in the learning material and confusing explanations will help us improve the presentation for the future application of this course.

part 2

Weapons and AggressionIn this assignment we analyze data that was collected as part of an experiment that investigated the mental relation between weapon and aggression. The experiment involved 32 undergraduate students ranging in age between 18 and 24 years. They were told that the purpose of this study was to test reading ability of various words. Each student was exposed to 192 trials. In each trial a computer presented a priming stimulus word for 1.25 seconds, a blank screen for 0.5 seconds, and then a target word. The experimenter instructed the subjects to read the first word to themselves and then to read the second word out loud as quickly as they could. The computer recorded reaction times.

The 192 trials were divided into 4 groups of size 48 each. In one group the priming stimulus word was a weapon word (such as “dagger” or “bullet”) and the target word was an aggressive word (such as “destroy” or “wound”). In another group the target word was instead a nonaggressive word (such as “evacuate” or “ashamed”). The third and fourth groups involved a name of an animal (such as “rabbit” or “dog”) as the priming stimulus word and the target, again, was either an aggressive or a nonaggressive word.

The file “weapons.csv” contains, for each subject and for each group of trials, the average of the 48 reaction times. The file can be found here. The file contains 5 variables:

• sex = The sex of the subject.
• aw = Aggressive target word following a weapon prime.
• an = Aggressive target word following a nonweapon (animal) prime.
• cw = Control target word (nonaggressive) following a weapon prime.
• cn = Control target word (nonaggressive) following a nonweapon prime.

(This data set is taken from the Rice Virtual Lab in Statistics. More details on this experiment can be found in the case study Weapons and Aggression that quotes as a source the paper: Anderson, C.A., Benjamin, A.J., & Bartholow, B.D. (1998). Does the gun pull the trigger? Automatic priming effects of weapon pictures and weapon names. Psychological Science, 9, 308-314.)

Submitting the Assignment

For the assignment you should complete 8 tasks associated with the given data set. This assignment has the format of a quiz and it is computer graded. The tasks are described in the Form titled “Assignment Unit 8”. The answer to each task involves the selection of the right choice/s (in a multiple choice question) or the entering of a numerical value at the designated location.

part 3

The Learning Journal is a tool for self-reflection on the learning process. In addition to completing directed tasks, you should use the Learning Journal to document your activities, record problems you may have encountered and to draft answers for Discussion Forums and Assignments.

Your learning journal entry must be a reflective statement that considers the following questions:

1. Describe what you did. This does not mean that you copy and paste from what you have posted or the assignments you have prepared. You need to describe what you did and how you did it.

2. Describe your reactions to what you did.

3. Describe any feedback you received or any specific interactions you had. Discuss how they were helpful.

4. Describe your feelings and attitudes.

5. Describe what you learned.

Another set of questions to consider in your learning journal statement include:

1. What surprised me or caused me to wonder?

2. What happened that felt particularly challenging? Why was it challenging to me?

3. What skills and knowledge do I recognize that I am gaining?

4. What am I realizing about myself as a learner?

5. In what ways am I able to apply the ideas and concepts gained to my own experience?

Finally, describe one important thing that you are thinking about in relation to the activity.

Your Learning Journal should be a minimum of 500 words.